Fuel for nuclear reactors generally includes fuel rods, tubes, pins, elements or cladding substantially filled with fuel pellets of UO.sub.2 or another fissile material preferably constituted in right cylindrical form. Nuclear reactors suitable for using such kinds of fuel are described for example in Nuclear Power Engineering by M. M. El-Wakil, published by McGraw Hill Book Company in 1962.
Fuel pellets may be loaded from a corrugated tray into rods or tubes as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,078, assigned to ASEA Aktiebolag.
It is accordingly an object of the instant invention to provide a process and apparatus for orderly loading such trays with fuel pellets.
It is another object of the instant invention to automate the loading of fuel pellet trays prior to filling the rods, tubes, or elements with pellets.
Another object is to load fuel pellets onto a tray in strings and in multiple levels, layers, or tiers.